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If you have a history of fracture from osteoporosis or weakness from events such as surgery, opening the fridge door can be a significant (and potentially dangerous) activity. In this video I share some opening fridge safety tips. This is particularly applicable for people concerned about vertebral compression fractures.

Opening Fridge Safety Tips Demonstration

A number of my clients are de-conditioned from prolonged hospital stays or other medical conditions.  As a result, opening their fridge door is an exhausting task.

Recently I snapped off my fridge door handle when I opened the fridge. The handle was fairly old and I had to search out a replacement. The gentleman who sold me the handle gave me a tip to reduce the resistance from the fridge. (He explained to me that manufacturers have increased the magnet strength used inside door fridges. That had increased demand for fridge door handles lately!).

He suggested applying little bit of vegetable oil along the rubber seal where the fridge door meets the fridge. If you apply vegetable oil along the whole length of the seal, it reduces the resistance that’s required to pull open the fridge door.

I thank him for the suggestion to use vegetable oil on the inside rubber strip to create a film between the rubber and the fridge body.

Give it a try and see if this helps you open the fridge door.

This tip will save you the headache of replacing your fridge door handle, avoid any back pain and reduce your risk of a compression fracture.

That’s all for MelioGuide today, thanks for tuning in.

opening fridge

Step by Step Instructions

Here are several opening fridge safety tips you should follow to avoid an injury or fracture.

  • Apply a bit of vegetable oil along the rubber seal to reduce the force of the magnet that holds the fridge door closed.
  • As you stand ready to open the fridge door, get into a staggered stance (like a boxer). Do not have your feet parallel or side-by-side.
  • Place the front foot about twelve inches to the outside of the fridge.
  • Your back foot is best aligned  in line with the handle.
  • Keep the elbow of the arm that is pulling at a 90 degree angle.
  • As you engage, shift weight forward to the front foot.
  • As you pull, shift your weight onto the back foot.
  • Remember to take in a breath before you start and exhale as you pull the door open.
  • To protect your neck, keep you tongue relaxed and placed at the roof of your mouth.

Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis

Exercise is an essential ingredient to bone health. If you have osteoporosis, therapeutic exercise needs to be part of your osteoporosis treatment program.

But what exercises should you do and which ones should you avoid? What exercises build bone and which ones reduce your chance of a fracture? Is Yoga good for your bones? Who should you trust when it comes to exercises for osteoporosis?

A great resource on exercise and osteoporosis is my free, seven day email course called Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis. After you provide your email address, you will receive seven consecutive online educational videos on bone health — one lesson each day. You can look at the videos at anytime and as often as you like.

free-osteoporosis-course-melioguide

I cover important topics related to osteoporosis exercise including:

  • Can exercise reverse osteoporosis?
  • Stop the stoop — how to avoid kyphosis and rounded shoulders.
  • Key components of an osteoporosis exercise program.
  • Key principles of bone building.
  • Exercises you should avoid if you have osteoporosis.
  • Yoga and osteoporosis — should you practice yoga if you have osteoporosis?
  • Core strength and osteoporosis — why is core strength important if you have osteoporosis?

Enter your email address and I will start you on this free course. I do not SPAM or share your email address (or any information) with third parties. You can unsubscribe from my mail list at any time.

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Conclusion

Hopefully these opening fridge safety tips will help you avoid injury such as a compression fracture or experience low back pain.

Activities of Daily Living

Visit my page dedicated to Activities of Daily Living to learn about other activities of daily living.

Comments

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October 11, 2017 at 11:37am

Arlene Wilson

Thanks Margaret,
Most helpful. I'm doing this on my upright freezer also.
Arlene

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January 2, 2021 at 5:11pm

Chicken Little

That is both hilarious (before you need it)...and brilliant (afterward). Great tip!